Anna Mandel, Boston College ’11, writes about confidentiality obligations imposed by courts of arbitration and host governments in France and the United Kingdom… Confidentiality has historically been an attractive element of international commercial arbitration because it is paramount for respondent companies to keep the content of negative allegations unavailable to the public. On the other [...]
The Obama administration on Thursday filed a brief in the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit contesting a request by plaintiff states to have the health care reform law appeal heard by an en banc court. The states had originally requested en banc review, along with an altered briefing schedule , on March [...]
General Counsel for the US Department of Defense (DOD) on Thursday urged Congress to allow civilian trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees, in addition to military commissions. At a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee , General Counsel Jeh Johnson called for Congress to explore all trial possibilities for the detainees, including both military panels [...]
The Oklahoma State Senate on Wednesday approved a bill similar to the controversial Arizona immigration law . Senate Bill 908 , passed by a 29-15 majority vote, gives state and local authorities to enforce any federal regulation or law concerning immigration. The proposed bill delegates police officers the authority to question the citizenship status of [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Sherrilyn Ifill of the University of Maryland School of Law says in light of recent events casting doubt on certain supreme court justices’ political biases that a major overhaul of Supreme Court recusal practice is in order…. If there’s a perception that partisan politics has infected our federal judiciary, the problem begins [...]
A spokesperson for the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service on Thursday confirmed the arrest of a 46-year-old Peruvian national on suspicion of crimes against humanity and torture. He is suspected of involvement with the Shining Path , a Maoist guerilla organization, believed to be responsible for the deaths of thousands in conflicts in Peru. The man, [...]
Congressional Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) , the 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Companion bills were introduced in both chambers of Congress in an effort to capitalize on growing public support [...]
The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) on Wednesday arrested nine suspects , all former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), on suspicions of committing war crimes during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo . Included in the arrest was Fatmir Limaj, a former commander of the KLA and prominent political figure [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to review a lower court order requiring a Muslim woman to remove her niqab while testifying. The Court of Appeal for Ontario in October ruled that a witness does not have to remove her veil unless the failure to do so will prevent the accused from receiving a [...]
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal on Wednesday ruled that the 1981 declaration of martial law violated the country’s then-governing constitution . The decision facilitates the restitution process for those harmed while martial law remained in effect by eliminating the need for courts to rule on the declaration’s constitutionality on a case-by-case basis. Thousands of restitution claims are [...]
